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Animal Law Keyed to Wagman
New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. New Jersey Department of Agriculture
Citation:
955 A.2d 886, 196 N.J. 366 (2008)Facts
The New Jersey Legislature enacted a statute in 1996 directing the Department of Agriculture to develop and adopt standards for the humane raising, keeping, care, treatment, marketing, and sale of domestic livestock. The statute created a presumption that compliance with these standards would not constitute a violation of animal cruelty laws. After a seven-year delay, the Department published proposed regulations in 2003, receiving over 6,500 written comments. The Department adopted final regulations in 2004, with amendments in 2005 and 2006.
The regulations defined “humane” as “marked by compassion, sympathy, and consideration for the welfare of animals” and established standards for various types of livestock including cattle, horses, poultry, rabbits, small ruminants, and swine. The regulations included “safe harbor” provisions that exempted “routine husbandry practices” from being considered inhumane if performed by “knowledgeable individuals in a sanitary manner in a way to minimize pain.”
Petitioners challenged the regulations, arguing that they violated the legislative mandate to establish humane standards. They specifically objected to the broad exemption for “routine husbandry practices,” the vague standards that failed to create enforceable rules, and the authorization of specific practices they considered inhumane, including tail docking of cattle, use of crates for swine and veal calves, castration without anesthesia, de-beaking of poultry, toe-trimming of turkeys, and transporting sick and downed cattle to slaughter.
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